Local feeder (Hymenoptera) in stems of Bouteloua

Record Details

Record no.:	0107
Feeding guild:	Local feeder in stem
Taxonomy:	Hymenoptera: ?Eurytomidae: cf. Tetramesa sp.
Stages observed:	trace, larva, adult
Hosts in Bouteloua:	B. curtipendula (sideoats grama)

Senesced culms of the host grass in a remnant prairie in the study area hosted overwintering larvae of this hymenopteran local feeder in winter 2021-2022. An adult emerged from inhabited culms in spring 2022. The adult has not yet been identified, but externally it resembles Eurytomidae. Eurytomids in the genus Tetramesa are well known as the "jointworms" that feed in culms of grasses in many parts of the world, sometimes causing economic damage to cereals (Carr et al. 2020, Noyes 2004, Saghaei et al. 2018). A larva I photographed was located immediately adjacent to a node, which "joint" is a typical location for jointworms in culms. There was some limited dark discoloration to the culm interior in the vicinity of the larva.

Burks (1979) does not list any records of Tetramesa species using Bouteloua as a host, and I have been unable to find prior records elsewhere as well.

Featured Images

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yellow larva in browned area in hollow culm — Image #: 107-01 Larva overwintering in dead culm of host. (Photo date: January 19, 2022) (larger version)

the larva is about five times as long as wide, with rounded ends and only faint divisions between the body segments — Image #: 107-02 Larva in culm.

mandibles are roughly triangular with hooked tips — Image #: 107-03 Head of larva, showing mandibles.

black wasp with red compound eye — Image #: 107-04 Reared adult, lateral. It was unclear if this individual was the adult form of the phytophagous hymenopteran local feeder in the culms, or a parasitoid of the local feeder. (Photo date: April 29, 2022)

the wasp has tiny hairs and/or pits on the surface of the head and thorax, antennae with clearly articulated segments, and transparent wings folded over its abdomen — Image #: 107-05 Reared adult, dorsal.

Specimen Data for Images

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Coll. 01/19/22, photos same day (larva, 01-03); coll. 01/19/22, adult em. 04/28/22, photos of adult on 04/29/22 (04-05).

References

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Burks, B.D. 1979. Eurytomidae. In Krombein, K.V., Hurd, Jr., P.D., Smith, D.R., and B.D. Burks (eds.). 1979. Catalog of Hymenoptera in America north of Mexico, vol. 1. Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington, D.C.[return to in-text citation]
Carr, J.F., Eiseman, C.S., and V. Belov. 2020. Genus Tetramesa. Genus information page on BugGuide.net. Retrieved November 12, 2023 from https://bugguide.net/node/view/511692.[return to in-text citation]
Noyes, J.S. 2004. Notes on families: Eurytomidae. In Universal Chalcidoidea Database. World Wide Web electronic publication. Retrieved November 12, 2023 from https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/chalcidoids/eurytomidae.html.[return to in-text citation]
Saghaei, N., Fallahzadeh, M., and H. Lotfalizadeh. 2018. Annotated catalog of Eurytomidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Iran. Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc. 144:263-293.[return to in-text citation]

Page created: November 12, 2023. Last update: February 8, 2026